To be clear: My daughter and I are not backing Hillary because she’s a woman. We’re voting for Hillary because of what she has done for women and what she will do in the years ahead.

Let’s take a look in the rearview mirror. When my mother was 8, women didn’t have the right to vote. In my lifetime, I remember the horrible death of my teenage neighbor before Roe v. Wade made safe access to abortion legal. My working mom, and many like her, had no access to high-quality child care.

Today the struggle continues. All across the nation, young women are carrying the torch, continuing to fight for equal pay, combating sexual assault on their campuses and learning firsthand what it means to be a woman in the 21st century.

Looking back on the hard-fought battles, we often take it for granted that “women’s rights are human rights.” But when Hillary declared it so in 1995 at the U.N. World Conference on Women in Beijing — and many other places around the world — it wasn’t obvious at all. She didn’t care how many feathers she ruffled or what consequences she might face; she stood up and said what needed to be said.

Of course, no one was too surprised. After all, Hillary has been on the front lines of this fight for her entire career. As first lady, she advocated for the Family and Medical Leave Act and increased funding for child care. As senator, she championed legislation to guarantee paid parental leave, protect a woman’s right to choose and achieve equal pay, co-sponsoring the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. (It’s no wonder Ledbetter herself endorsed Hillary just a few weeks ago). And as secretary of state, Hillary made women’s rights a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy.

Generations of mothers and daughters are better off because Hillary fought for us. But the fight isn’t over. In Missouri and across the country, women are struggling to get ahead. Wages have flatlined and salary gaps remain. The Affordable Care Act still must be defended and improved to further reduce out-of-pocket health care costs. Everything from quality child care to a college education is still out of reach for far too many.

Hillary Clinton understands these are issues that face women every day and they will be front and center when she is president. Our granddaughters and great-granddaughters are already better off because of what she has done throughout her career.

Thanks to her, a little girl born today at University Hospital in Columbia or Mercy Hospital in St. Louis will grow up with more confidence, opportunity and security, knowing that she can be anything she aspires to be — even if that dream is to be president someday.